Virtual Conference To Take Place October 12-14, 2021 Featuring Bestselling Authors Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Heather McGhee and Other Nationally-Renowned Speakers

Washington, D.C. – The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA) today announced the line-up for their upcoming annual conference, taking place October 12-14, 2021. SPARK 2021 will be a three-day virtual learning experience that will activate the power of the social sector. Registration is now open (early bird registration rates available through September 27) and can be accessed here.

“Fueled by a commitment to advance equity and improve the well-being of all people, we hope this virtual conference will spark and elevate important conversations around some of today’s most vexing challenges and inspire participants to implement innovative practice, policy, and research,” commented Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of Alliance-COA. “We will also be launching our new organization and unveiling our new brand during the opening session, which represents a critical moment in the history of our organizations as we work to create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network so that all people can thrive.”

SPARK 2021 will open on Tuesday, October 12 with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist. Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlanticand a CBS News racial justice contributor. In 2020, Time magazine named Dr. Kendi one of the 100 most influential people in the world. 

The closing ceremony on Thursday, October 14 will feature Heather McGhee, bestselling author of The Sum of Us. A renowned expert on the American economy, Heather McGhee is one of the most brilliant and influential thinkers exploring inequality today. Both her viral TED talk and her instant New York Timesbestseller The Sum of Us reveal the devastating true cost of racism—not just for people of color, but for everyone. Deeply stirring, intelligent, and compassionate, McGhee’s talks offer us an actionable roadmap during one of the most critical—and most troubled—periods in history. McGhee has drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and become a regular contributor on shows like Meet the Press and Real Time with Bill Maher.

Key sessions over the three-day conference will include:

• Intersection of Identities: Using Who You Are to Advance the Work of Equity featuring Charles Montorio-Archer, president and CEO of One Hope United, and author of Everybody Paddle: A Leader’s Blueprint for Creating a Unified Team
• How Internal Power Sharing Can Transform Organizational Culture and Advance Change featuring a panel of social sector leaders from the Children’s Guild Alliance, Villa of Hope and Children & Families First
• What We’ve Learned about Effective Partnership for Addressing Pervasive Racial Disparities featuring key leaders in the collective impact movement from StriveTogether, Built for Zero and Cities United
• Policy Solutions at the Intersection of Child Welfare, Poverty, and Racism featuring a panel discussion with Jerry Milner, director of Family Integrity and Justice Works, Public Knowledge; Brian Samuels, executive director of Chapin Hall; and Dr. Julia Jean-Francois, Co-Director for the Center on Family Life in Brooklyn, NY.
• Jointly Addressing ACEs and Racism: Moving from Theory to Action featuring leaders from Cooperative of Communities, RYSE Center and Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health
• Understanding Power Dynamics: The History of Disparities in America featuring Rueben C. Warren, executive director of the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care from Tuskegee University

SPARK 2021’s diamond sponsors are Brown & Brown Insurance of Lehigh Valley and FEI Workforce Resilience. Sponsors for SPARK include: Aramark, Binti, Unite US, United Healthcare, Villa of Hope, and Your Part-Time Controller. Additional sponsors include: Accreditation Guru, Afia, BakerTilley, Datis, Gallagher, Insperity, Lincoln Families, One Hope United, Presence, Truth Collective, Turning Points for Children, and Youth Villages.

Media Notes: The newly merged Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation will be announcing its new name and brand during the opening session on October 12, 2021 at 11am EST. Media are invited to attend the full conference free-of-charge. To request access, contact Jennifer Devlin at Jdevlin@alliance1.org.

For more information, to access the full agenda of events, or to register for SPARK 2021 go to link.

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About the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA)

The Alliance-COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of opportunities to actively shape the sector through collaboration, innovation, policy, and practice excellence.

Oct. 12-14
Registration Now Open!  Early Bird Discount Available Until Sept. 13.

Designed by the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA), SPARK 2021 is a three-day virtual learning experience that will activate the power of the social sector. It also signals an exciting new era for us and the sector, as we will be launching our new organization during the opening session.

Join us for this three-day, virtual learning experience, to convene leaders from across the human services ecosystem to create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network so that all people can thrive.

Fueled by a commitment to advance equity and improve the well-being of all people, we will elevate important conversations around some of today’s most vexing challenges and inspire participants to implement innovative practice, policy, and research.

 

Along with the development and board approval of its new vision, mission, and core values, the Alliance-COA team continues to make significant progress on a wide range of integration objectives designed to fuel the success of its newly integrated organization, as it awaits final approval from the office of the New York State attorney general.

Other critical work underway includes efforts by cross-functional teams to finalize core product and service offerings; engage partners in developing the policy agenda; optimize the new organization’s operational structure; finalize the new identity and branding; and plan the virtual learning experience, Alliance-COA SPARK, to be held Oct. 12-14. 

Focused on Alliance-COA’s commitment to advance equity, SPARK is a virtual learning experience designed to elevate important conversations around some of the most vexing challenges we face and inspire individuals and organizations in their efforts to implement innovative practice, policy, and research for the improved well-being of all people.

By featuring compelling headliners and leveraging established and validated knowledge and novel thinking that disrupts the status quo, SPARK will enable participants to effectively address the most persistent barriers to effective practice, leadership, and change. Registration and additional details will be available soon. Learn more and plan to join us for this exciting and inspiring event.

About the Newly Merged Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation

The Alliance-COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of opportunities to actively shape the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, and ongoing iterative and reflective connections.

Due to the racial disparities that have come to light because of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice protests, the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and other major organizations across the country have crafted and signed a Nonprofit Racial Justice Statement. These 47 organizations have come together to lay out principles and values to guide individual and collective efforts to advance equity and justice across our country. 

Read the full statement for more details.

For more opportunities to take action and voice sector concerns, visit the Alliance-COA Policy Action Center.

Statement of Guiding Principles to Advance Racial Equity and Justice

As leaders who are committed to equity and justice, as mission-focused organizations who are stewards of the public trust, and as a nonprofit sector with far-reaching impact on the national economy, the undersigned are committed to advancing racial justice and equity in all areas of civic and community life. We are deeply moved by the stark racial injustice that the intersecting crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and policy violence toward people of color have once again revealed — racial injustice that is intertwined with America’s past and its present. The racial and ethnic disparities that persist across economic, education, healthcare, criminal justice, and other sectors of society make clear that systemic racism continues to undermine the foundations of well-being for communities of color by denying access to opportunity and making it more difficult to secure jobs, housing, healthcare, education, nutrition, and equal treatment under law. 

Faced with this moment of national urgency and entrusted by communities to lead in crisis, we affirm and commit to utilizing the following principles and values as a guide in our individual and collective efforts to advance equity and justice: 

Read the principles and values here.

This statement, originally published in September 2020, has been updated with additional endorsing organizations.

Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement from Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA) on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment (CAPTA) Reauthorization Act of 2021 (S.1927).

“The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation thanks Sens. Patty Murray and Richard Burr for their work to advance racial equity and promote primary prevention in the CAPTA reauthorization bill (S.1927), which was marked up yesterday in the Senate HELP Committee. This bill includes important tools for states and communities to help families overcome challenges and offers family strengthening supports that can help prevent maltreatment before it occurs. 

New focuses on trauma-informed approaches, minimizing racial bias and disparities in the child protective services system, alternative pathways to support families outside of child protection systems, data sharing across agencies to improve outcomes, engaging people with lived experience, and improving access for people who have experienced violence and/or trauma are all critical and transformative reforms. Additionally, we were pleased to see the public health approach to address fatalities from child abuse and neglect in the new Title III of this bill. 

This approach aligns with the central recommendation of the bipartisan federal Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities, which stressed that fatalities are not inevitable; they can be prevented with the right resources and knowledge in place. This bill brings needed resources and reforms that have the potential to play a critical role in transforming child welfare systems into child well-being systems. We stand ready to work with members of Congress to support its passage.”

About the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA)
The Alliance-COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of offerings and learnings to actively shape the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, connection, and ongoing iterative and reflective interactions. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA) announced the recent addition of five new staff members in the focus areas of practice excellence in accreditation; equity, diversity and inclusion; safety and resilience; and brain science and trauma-informed care.

Diane Barnes, Ellie Walborn, and Keesha Souvenir joined Alliance-COA as accreditation coordinators to oversee and coordinate accreditation services for a variety of human and social service organizations. Alliance-COA offers full-organization accreditation, including phased approaches for Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) under the Family First Prevention Services Act, for nonprofit, for-profit, and government programs in the U.S. and Canada. Alliance-COA also offers accreditation for military family readiness and child and youth development programs. They bring extensive experience in the sector to the accreditation team.

Diane Barnes joins the Alliance-COA having worked to support a wide range of accredited organizations with varying budgets, sizes, and areas of focus. Previously, Barnes worked for Catholic Charities of Venice to develop and implement the first federal grant to address human trafficking in partnership with the University of South Florida and Lee County Sheriff’s office. She has a decades-long career supporting those who have experienced domestic violence, homelessness, and mental illness.

Ellie Walborn joins Alliance-COA with a background in social services in the areas of foster care and elementary education. Most recently, she was a care coordinator at West Michigan Partnership for Children (WMPC), a private foster care oversight entity where she worked closely with the performance and quality improvement coordinators to improve outcomes for children in the child welfare system. She also served as the co-chair of WMPC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. She was a member of the subcommittee to address permanency for LGBTQ+ youth at risk for homelessness and chaired the Employee Advisory council which helps to drive development of organizational culture and wellness initiatives. 

Keesha Souvenir joins Alliance-COA with varied experience. Most recently, she worked for the NYC Department of Corrections as an investigator. Prior to her work there, she worked in child welfare using the Sanctuary Model as well as utilizing her certification in Solution-Based Casework. She has developed effective crisis management skills throughout her work in social services including in her work as a crisis counselor for a visiting nurse service following Hurricane Sandy. 

Romero Davis has joined Alliance-COA as part of the Safety and Resilience Impact Area. Romero is a mentor; an award-winning leadership, professional development, and life coach; published author; and an advocate of safe communities and families. He has been active nationally working with agencies in areas such as poly-victimization; trauma in families; equity, diversity, and inclusion; juvenile justice; and domestic violence. Romero previously served as program manager for agencies focused on sexual assault and domestic violence. Davis will co-lead the technical assistance for the DOJ-funded Child Safety Forward initiative and will also support the Alliance-COA’s equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) portfolio. 

Karen Johnson has joined the organization as Director of the Change in Mind Institute. Johnson is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in individual and organizational resilience, brain science, toxic stress, trauma, and trauma-informed approaches. She has over 25 years of experience working in behavioral health, community services and child welfare.  She led the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s trauma-informed services team and more recently served as an independent consultant working to advance trauma-informed, resilience-oriented approaches. She also led and developed community-based programs during her 19 years at SaintA in Milwaukee. Johnson will oversee a cohort of 10 Texas-based organizations in a collaborative learning model funded by the Powell Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation to strengthen their ability to translate brain science concepts into programs, practice, and policy change. 

According to Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of the Alliance-COA, “Barnes, Walborn, and Souvenir bring extensive expertise in quality improvement and accreditation, an important focus and critical service offering from the Alliance-COA. Davis brings tremendous depth of experience to our Child Safety Forward work to build the body of knowledge about strengthening child and family wellbeing to prevent crises. Johnson’s efforts will combine the newest science around brain research, trauma-informed care, adversity, and resilience to strengthen these crucial areas in organizations across the social sector. The addition of these five staff represent our continued growth and commitment to the areas of quality improvement, equity diversity and inclusion, and brain science as critical areas to propel our field forward and improve outcomes for all people.”

About the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA)
The Alliance-COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of offerings and learnings to actively shape the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, connection, and ongoing iterative and reflective interactions. 

The following is a statement from Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities/Council on Accreditation (Alliance/COA) on the Derek Chauvin trial verdict of guilty on all three counts:

“The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation stand with our colleagues in Minneapolis and in communities across the country.

This verdict reflects the fact that our national reckoning on systemic racism in America is long overdue. Watching the Derek Chauvin trial unfold has been difficult for all Americans, and  for people of color who have lost another father, mother, son, or daughter at the hands of law enforcement, this tragedy, played out daily on our television screens, has been especially hard to bear. Systemic racism and implicit bias are infused across too many of the systems that should support people, resulting too often in harm to those they are meant to protect. While we  recognize the work that has taken place thus far to expand equity, diversity and inclusion, we must continue to build on it, and acknowledge that the road ahead of us is long, and that true systemic change is needed and required. We hope this verdict puts us on a path toward bringing about that needed change and healing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made all of us aware of the fact that no one is fully immune to adversity or struggle. We know that people are resilient and by enabling all Americans to access supports, including the opportunity to earn a livable wage, live in safe, secure neighborhoods, have access to food security and health care; we can give everyone the opportunity to thrive and achieve well-being.

Let’s strengthen our commitment as a nation to realign our systems to better reflect the social determinants of health that create the context in which we live our daily lives and pledge to do better to ensure everyone can reach their full potential, regardless of where they live, the color of their skin, or their socioeconomic standing.”

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About the Newly Merged Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (COA)
The merged Alliance and COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of offerings and learnings to actively shape the future of the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, connection, and ongoing iterative and reflective interactions.

We are excited to announce that our COA Measures benchmarking reports are now available for our accredited private and Canadian organizations.  COA Measures is the first of its kind human services benchmarking program grounded in years of research.

We began this journey in 2016 with COA’s 2020 strategic planning process. We talked with and surveyed our network regarding their reasons for seeking COA accreditation and how we could provide even more value to their experience.  One theme which was raised over and over was the need for data.

This result is the product of years’ worth of work including research, pilots, surveys, and focus groups, that we couldn’t have accomplished without the incredible network of organizations that are part of our accreditation family.  The findings cover a wide array of measures of organizational health and sustainability, including finances, workforce, governance, and many more.  Accredited private and Canadian organizations can access their benchmarking report via their MyCOA portal.

Thank you to the hundreds of participants in our first ever endeavor, we couldn’t have done this without the generosity and time of our partners.  You can learn more about COA Measures here.

The Council on Accreditation (COA) is proud to announce the publication of our 2021 Private Standards!

The new standards will affect private organizations seeking accreditation.

In response to feedback from accredited organizations, COA revised the standards update process in 2020 from ongoing/monthly updates to annual updates. The 2021 updates reflect that annual process and include changes that were made based on ongoing collection and analysis of feedback received from our organizations and volunteer reviewers, collaboration with diverse groups of subject matter experts, and a review of research and professional literature on identified trends and evolving practices.

The 2021 updates include:

• New Standards for Office-Based Opioid Treatment (MHSU)
• Updated Standards for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Programs (MHSU)
• Updated Standards for Child and Family Development and Support (CFD)
• Updated Standards for Family Preservation and Stabilization (FPS)
• Updated Standards for Treatment Foster Care (FKC)
• Updated Standards for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Additional updates and revisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

You can download the detailed changes for each of the updated sections in our 2021 Update document available here or in your MyCOA portal.

Note: The 2021 Edition will not impact organizations that are currently pursuing accreditation or re-accreditation and have already been assigned standards in the MyCOA portal.  If you are an in-process organization and have questions about the updates, please contact your Accreditation Coordinator.